Why wouldn’t he be? The former Clinton High School athlete is part of Syracuse University’s football revival.

He hasn’t played a major role in the Orange’s surprising season – 4-2 in the Big East, 7-3 overall, the first winning record since 2001, bowl eligible for the first time since 2004 – but he’s in on it, and he’s enjoying it.

“I feel very privileged to be part of this team,” he said.

Jarrett played football and basketball – he once had a 35-point game – and also played baseball and ran track before playing lacrosse as a senior at Clinton. He will be dressed and wearing his No. 16 when SU plays Connecticut in an important Big East game Saturday at the Carrier Dome.

The 6-foot-2, 205-pound sophomore hasn’t seen the field in his two years on the team, and is very unlikely to as a quarterback, but he has hopes of eventually seeing action. In the meantime, he fills the role he has to fill as a member of Coach Doug Marrone’s resurgent program.

And why is the program bouncing back?

“Leadership, especially from the seniors, on and off the field,” Jarrett said.

Marrone is a big reason, too.

“He’s probably the smartest guy I’ve ever met with Xs and Os,” Jarrett said. “He commands a lot of respect. He’s instilled a lot of confidence in this team.”

Jarrett was a Section C Class C South first-team all-star after passing for 950 yards and 12 touchdowns and rushing for 400 yards and four more scores as a high school senior. He was the team MVP and also a captain. He could have chosen to play small college football or basketball, but he wanted to major in communications. He qualified for SU’s prestigious Newhouse School, but he also wanted to continue his football career.

“I got in touch with the coaches, and I got a chance,” he said.

Now, he’s one of about 15 walk-ons – players without scholarships – on the team.

“He’s extremely hard-working,” Marrone said. “He’s excellent in the room. He helps us with the other quarterbacks. He helps us on the field.”

Marrone said his group of walk-ons is especially valuable right now, as injury-riddled as the team is. They fill in at practice, and some do get to play. Quarterback Nick Raven was on special teams before being injured, and Adam Harris, a transfer from Cornell, starts at fullback.

“We really honestly couldn’t be doing some of the things we do without these guys,” Marrone said. “They work their butts off. My hat’s off to them.”

What are the benefits of being on the team without a scholarship?

Page 2 of 3 - “The biggest thing is being part of this exciting time for Syracuse football,” Jarrett said, “and the coaches emphasizing molding you as a person as well as a player – character development, leadership development.”

Jarrett’s job right now consists mostly of shadowing the other quarterbacks, and signaling in plays at practice, but he does see a future on special teams.

“That’s what I’ve been hoping to do,” he said. “I want to put some pounds on during the off-season and get ready to do that.”

Wagner’s Hameline hits 200-win benchmark

Former New Hartford High School football, basketball and baseball player Walt Hameline hit a huge milestone Nov. 6 when his Wagner College football team defeated Monmouth 31-20 Nov. 6.

The win was the 200th of Hameline’s 30-season head coaching career. He’s 200-114-2 as his 5-5 Seahawks prepare for their season finale Saturday at Sacred Heart. He is the 66th coach in college football history to reach that victory total.

A member of the Greater Utica Sports Hall of Fame, Hameline scored his first victory Sept. 19, 1981, when the Seahawks rumbled past Buffalo State, 59-7.

Hameline, who played basketball at Herkimer County Community College and football at Brockport State, was an assistant coach at Brockport, Plattsburgh and coached under Billy Russo at Wagner before taking over the program. He has been the school’s athletic director since 1982, and was the president of the Metropolitan Intercollegiate Basketball Committee, which governed the National Invitation Tournament.

In 1987, after the Seahawks won the NCAA Division III championship, he was named national Coach of the Year. That team went 13-1 and included former Rome Free Academy standouts Tom Pugh and Mike Walker. He coached many Mohawk Valley players over the years, including 1982 Division III player of the year Alonzo Patterson, a Utica Free Academy graduate.

Hameline has had 23 winning seasons at Wagner, and his teams have finished under .500 just three times.

Colgate ready for finale at Fordham

Colgate already has a winning season locked up, but the Raiders can’t grab the Patriot League championship they were favored to win, and they aren’t going to the NCAA FCS playoffs.

So, what will motivate them for their season finale at Fordham?

Coach Dick Biddle can think of a few things.

“It’s the last game of your career,” he said, referring to his seniors. “You want to win your last game. That’s the one you’ll remember.”

And, it’s important to win the last game of any season for the players who will be back next fall.

“It sets the tone for next season,” Biddle said.

And, then, there is the big one.

Page 3 of 3 - “You’d better be ready to play!” Biddle said. “It’s a contact sport. You can’t just mail it in.”

The Raiders have had a roller-coaster year, dropping league games to Holy Cross and Lehigh, at least partly because of injuries to quarterback Greg Sullivan and leading receiver Doug Rosnick. However, if they defeat the Rams, the seniors will have gone 32-14 during their careers, and that’s important, too.

Among the seniors playing in their last game will be Sullivan, Rosnick, fullback Gigi Cadet, tight end Nick Cvetic, defensive ends Lamont Sonds and Zach Smith, and linebacker Chris DiMassa, the team’s leading tackler.